Washington: The US Senate has passed bipartisan legislation seeking sanctions against officials responsible for forced organ harvesting in China.
The Falun Gong and Victims of Forced Organ Harvesting Protection Act was led by Republican Senator Ted Cruz of Texas and Democratic Senator Jeff Merkley of Oregon, both members of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee.
The legislation would impose sanctions on officials responsible for forced organ harvesting in China and direct the US Secretary of State to report to Congress on the Chinese Communist Party’s organ harvesting policies and transplant system.
“The Chinese Communist Party continues to target Falun Gong practitioners through its brutal, state-sponsored organ harvesting industry,” Cruz said following Senate passage.
“These atrocities are an assault on religious liberty and fundamental human rights. I am proud to have worked with Senator Merkley to get this bipartisan bill through the Senate, and I urge my colleagues in the House to pass it and send it to the President’s desk,” he said.
The Senate action moves the legislation to its next stage in Congress. It would need approval from the House before it could be sent to the President.
Merkley cited reports of forced organ harvesting involving vulnerable groups in China.
“China’s campaign of repression and human rights abuses continues to have horrific consequences, including reports of forced organ harvesting from vulnerable groups across the PRC,” he said.
“We must stand up for the victims of these crimes, and our bipartisan effort holds the Chinese government accountable for its abuses,” Merkley added.
The measure has drawn support from senators from both parties.
Its co-sponsors include Republican Senators Todd Young, Ron Johnson, Mike Rounds, Roger Marshall, Dave McCormick and James Lankford, as well as Democratic Senators Adam Schiff, Ron Wyden, Catherine Cortez Masto and Raphael Warnock.
Cruz and Merkley introduced the bipartisan legislation in March 2026. Cruz had separately introduced the Falun Gong Protection Act in March 2025.
The legislation focuses in particular on allegations involving Falun Gong practitioners in China.
Falun Gong was founded by Li Hongzhi in China in the early 1990s and expanded rapidly during that decade.
Chinese authorities outlawed the movement in 1999 and launched a campaign against its activities.
According to the material released by Cruz’s office, Chinese authorities have carried out mass arrests and torture of Falun Gong practitioners and detained thousands in labour camps. It also says some practitioners have been subjected to forced organ harvesting.
The legislation seeks to use sanctions as a mechanism for holding individuals responsible for such practices accountable.
It also seeks greater information from the State Department about China’s transplant system and the Chinese Communist Party’s policies relating to organ harvesting.
The Senate’s passage comes as human rights remain a persistent source of friction in US-China relations. American lawmakers from both parties have pursued legislation and congressional scrutiny over issues including religious freedom, treatment of dissidents and China’s policies in Hong Kong and Xinjiang.
(IANS)
